Oh, Danny Boyle

I picked up 28 Days Later on DVD this morning along with a couple of Hammer films from the $5.88 bin and one that has a no doubt fine film called Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter as well as Dementia 13 and the Screaming Skulls. Perhaps there will be a report later, but probably not.

On the 28DL disc there are three alternate endings. One is a variation on the ending shown in US theatres, only without a main character making it through to the end. Another is the same main character dying after a try at a valiant save by the other two.

The third ending, though, is glorious.

It completely dumps the final third act of the film with the soldiers in favor of a smaller story where the characters end up at the same research facility as the beginning of the film and find out how to stop the virus. The story and whatnot are not what makes it so good, however.

The whole thing is done with the only visuals being the storyboards of the sequence, and all dialogue and stage directions done by director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland.

It's like a book on tape with pictures. Or one of those books with the audio track that you 'read' along to and turn the page when the tone sounds. Only there's no tone, and no annoying pages to turn.

If only all movies and or books could be done this way.

Imagine the wondrous world we would then live in.